Resurrection with most recent Book, TV Show and Film

Resurrecting This Thing, so hopefully can get some good reviews out of Jocks on his travels

The Vegetarian, by Han Kang

Not sure how to even begin describing this book. Its a Man Booker winner, and very short and tight, unlike the last Man Booker winner I read, Luminaries, which is not very short and tight at all.

It is essentially three very short novellas, all connected, following three different closely intertwined people, linked by this woman who decides to go vegetarian after a dream. But a rather strange pursuit of the dream leads to her slowly going mad, although in her madness, she reflects something of a rationalist approach to society. Captures an interestingly patriarchal South Korean society where the 50s still seem to be holding sway, and being a woman usually means you are a housewife who is entirely subserviant. The second novel is quite graphically sexual at times, but interestingly it was the second part which won the highest Korean literary prize.

Worth reading anyway. 

Bojack Horseman, Season 3

It is disappointing mom won't enjoy this (its a cartoon) because its excellent. Quite profound at times, but also very, very clever. There is a whole episode set underwater, and some pretty committed one episode arcs that go very strange places. I guess it has shades of Curb, the minor issues of celebrity, but in a far more profound and troubling way, negotiating the lack of meaning, the search for happiness, the concessions of life. I think they can get away with a lot more with the major light fantasy concessions of a world with humanoid animals everywhere. 

Some of the best moments are just pure genius using the form: Sea World as a strip joint, as the whales are all essentially strippers, but children still go because its still sold as educational, Hard to put into words. Plus just all these lovely little moments, like when the male seahorse gives birth on the bus, or this well dressed raven sits on a phone wire. 

For the parents: Friday Night Dinner is also back. Pretty good light entertainment. 

The Green Room

Film Fest Pick so far (haven't seen anything else). Patrick Stewart and the now dead Anton Yelchin (the new Chekov) play odd antagonists playing out at a punk Neo Nazi bar, in a slightly dystopic imagining of America. Like nothing I've ever seen Patrick Stewart do, by no means the intensity of Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast, or Ralph Fiennes in In Bruges, or even the vibe of Animal Kingdom, but still a quite gruesome, dark, punk, chaotic, take on your traditional thriller/horror flick, Also brings a whole new meaning to the term Chekov's gun, and I'm not sure how intentional it was, but there seemed to be all these little references to star trek moments. 

Don't really want to say too much about it, but I am very aware this is not a film mom should see. Its not horror, but the gruesome bits are quite visceral.